26. UK Tax workers walk out against privatisation

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Tax office workers across Britain walked out today in opposition to what they described as "creeping privatisation" in the sector.

The 24-hour strike - timed to coincide with the deadline for the filing of self-assessment tax forms - was in response to government plans to trial the use of private firms at two centres, Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in West Lothian.

An estimated 20,000 employees walked out in opposition to the appointment of two private companies, Sitel and Teleperformance, to run call-handling trials in the two HM Revenue and Customs centres...

... The advertised jobs are paid several thousand pounds less a year than civil servants doing the same work.

The union argues that the department would be better advised to invest funds in its own staff rather than planning to axe an estimated 10,000 jobs.